In underground mining operations, it is known to use plow systems which comprise a shiftable chain scraper conveyor which can be used both as a face conveyor and as a gate conveyor. On the working face side, plow guide troughs are mounted on the conveyor line pans of the chain scraper conveyor, on which plow guide troughs the plow is guided. The plow guide troughs have chain channels for guiding the endless plow chain disposed on them so as to be able to pull the plow along the wall face. In modern high-performance plow systems, to which the present invention is preferably addressed, the plow on the plow guide is forcibly guided. In the prior art, many measures have already been proposed to reinforce the conveyor line pans and the plow guide troughs so as to keep up with the ever-increasing rated capacities of the chain scraper conveyors and the plow drives in high-performance plow systems. Thus, it is known that the plow guides can be disposed on the goaf side and that the plow can be designed as a sword plow, with the sword plow extending with a sword under the chain scraper conveyor (DE 36 27 733) or reaching with a sword between the top strand and the bottom strand.
Although satisfactory, there remains a need for a plow guide with plow guide troughs on conveyor line pans suitable for use with a high performance plow system, such as the Gleithobel® plow system. Furthermore, there is a need for a plow guide that has a sufficiently high tool life, and which can be economically manufactured.